- Form (PDF, 482.64 KB)
- (Guide PDF, 155.77 KB)
Flood work
- Application for a new approval for a flood work
- Form (PDF, 503.79 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 261.89 KB)
- Form (PDF, 321.47 KB)
- (Guide PDF, 187.89 KB)
Other
- Amend approval to reduce pump size (PDF, 261.95 KB)
- Application for a test bore or monitoring bore (PDF, 573.15 KB)
- Application for interstate tagging a NSW approval to an interstate entitlement (PDF, 190.52 KB)
- Application to amend an approval for inactive and active works
- Form (PDF, 282.29 KB)
- (Guide PDF, 3348.24 KB)
- Form (PDF, 262.68 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 371.22 KB)
Licences and dealings
Licensing and dealings under the Water Management Act 2000
- Apply and pay online for a new specific purpose water access licence
- Form (PDF, 309.76 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 200.26 KB)
- Form (PDF, 766.86 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 186.19 KB)
Water access licence changes made through WaterNSW are linked below
- Sub-divide (PDF, 120.63 KB) or consolidate ( PDF, 100.54 KB) access licences (71P) – Cancel original licence/s and sub-divide or consolidate in the same water management area or source.
- 71P 1a Form (PDF, 415.6 KB)
- 71P 1a Guide (PDF, 174.34 KB)
- 71P 1b Form (PDF, 1526.47 KB)
- 71P 1b Guide (PDF, 168.81 KB)
- Form (PDF, 1021.5 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 171.6 KB)
- Form (PDF, 270.89 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 496.45 KB)
- Form (PDF, 455.23 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 503.48 KB)
- Form (PDF, 1021.5 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 171.6 KB)
- Form (PDF, 1021.5 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 171.6 KB)
- Form (PDF, 1021.5 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 171.6 KB)
- Forms
- Form (PDF, 382.69 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 150.79 KB)
- Form (PDF, 361.39 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 394.85 KB)
- Request to register a security interest in a replacement water access licence or notification that no security interest exists (initiated by interest holder) (PDF, 172.44 KB)
- Mortgagee notice of registration of security interest issue to water access licence holders (Template letter) (DOCX, 19.9 KB)
- Secured interest registration by holders of replacement water access licences
- Form (PDF, 194.11 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 114.49 KB)
Driller's licensing and Automatic Mutual Recognition
Please use the Drillers Portal to submit a Bore construction report (BCR) directly online.
- Bore construction report - Form A ( PDF, 267.56 KB) (hard copy)
- Guide - Bore construction report - Form A () PDF, 148.1 KB
To register for Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) in NSW, please visit the AMR website.
- Application for a water supply works approval for construction dewatering
- Form (PDF, 338.21 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 147.88 KB)
- Form (PDF, 508.78 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 138.84 KB)
- Fact sheet (PDF, 116.17 KB)
- Form (PDF, 270.89 KB)
- Guide (PDF, 496.45 KB)
Application processing times
WaterNSW aims to process all applications in a timely manner. Please see the table below for our target standard processing times for approvals and assessments.
APPLICATION TYPE TARGET PROCESSING TIME CURRENT PERFORMANCE Licence dealings assignment of shares (7IQ) 90% within 20 days 91% New access licences 80% within 40 days 94% Water supply work and use approval 80% within 60 days 88% Extend an approval 90% within 20 days 98% Approval for a bore for domestic and stock rights 90% within 10 days 73% Figures are for the time period of 1 January 2024 – 31 March 2024.
Depending on the application type and complexity, with other agencies involved in the approval, it may take up to 6 months for your application to be determined. You can track the progress of your application and we thank you for your patience and understanding. View our Customer Service Charter.
FAQS
Water access licence or dealing
Approval for a water supply work to take groundwater under a domestic and stock right
- Sole Applicants – frequently asked questions
- Multiple Applicants – frequently asked questions
Note: If you want to amend an existing approval for a water supply work to take groundwater under a domestic and stock right you need to complete a hard copy application form (PDF, 900.69 KB)
- Water supply work approvals
- Domestic and stock rights
Extend a water supply work and/or water use approval
Letters to approval holders notifying them about applying to extend an approval are posted by WaterNSW before the expiry date of the approval.
The letter notifying you to apply to extend a water supply work and/or water use approval includes a personal application number for you to use our Water Applications Online service to apply and pay online.
If your notification letter does not include this number you will need to fill in the hard copy application form posted to you with your notification letter
For more information, go to:
- FAQs - Extend your approval (PDF, 143.36 KB)
- Water supply work and water use approvals.
Application fees
Application fees for water access licences, dealings and approvals
WaterNSW charges fees to cover the assessment and processing costs of applications for access licences, water supply work approvals, water use approvals and access licence dealings lodged under the Water Management Act 2000.
These fees are determined by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). The fees applying from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 are listed in the following tables. These fees will increase annually on 1 July, and until 30 June 2025 those increases will be based on changes in the consumer price index (CPI). Fees are exempt from GST.
2024-25 Application fees
Fees
New water access licences
APPLICATION TYPE FEE Zero share $834.57 Controlled allocation $811.95 Specific purpose – NO groundwater assessment required $846.83 Specific purpose – groundwater assessment required $3,812.67 Water access licence dealings
Low risk, unregulated rivers and groundwater - groundwater assessment NOT required
This applies to:
- Assign share components between Water Access Licences (s. 71Q) groundwater ONLY where a bore extraction limit is in place for receiving work (no hydro assessment)
- Assign share components between Water Access Licences (s. 71Q) where the receiving Water Access Licence has no nominated works
- Remove a nominated work on a Water Access Licence (s. 71W) ONLY
- Subdivide a Water Access Licence (s. 71P (a)) ONLY with no change in the nominated work
- Consolidate Water Access Licences (s. 71P (b)) ONLY with no change in the nominated works
This applies to:
- Request a correction or amendment to the Water Access Licence Register (s. 71I)
Water allocation assignments (temporary trade)
APPLICATION TYPE FEE Regulated rivers $58.16 Unregulated rivers and groundwater $58.16 Please note: application fee(s) for water trade will NOT be refunded if an allocation assignment application is unsuccessful, withdrawn or incomplete.
Basic landholder right bore applications
APPLICATION TYPE FEE New basic landholder right bore - groundwater assessment NOT required $1,040.66 New basic landholder right bore - groundwater assessment required $1,208.38 Amended approval, administrative - groundwater assessment NOT required
This applies to:
- Construct a replacement bore consistent with water sharing plan rules (no hydro assessment)
- Remove lands/works.
- Consolidate Approvals ONLY where there is no change to the existing works
- Subdivide an Approval.
- Make a work/s inactive or withdraw inactive status.
Surface water applications
Amended approval - administrative
This applies to:
- Remove lands/works.
- Consolidate approvals ONLY where there is no change to the existing works.
- Subdivide an approval.
- Make a work/s inactive or withdraw inactive status.
- An additional work that has been previously assessed and is awaiting a Crown Land Licence.
APPLICATION TO AMEND AN APPROVAL FOR INACTIVE AND ACTIVE WORKS FEE Amended approval - administrative $624.95 Construction dewatering applications
APPLICATION TYPE FEE New or amended works approvals - groundwater assessment required $8,206.82 New or amended works and/or use approvals, low risk - groundwater assessment NOT required $2,839.71 Amended approval, administrative - groundwater assessment required $3,590.81 Approval extension applications
APPLICATION TYPE FEE Extension lodged on or before expiry date $601.11 Extension lodged after expiry date $1,110.97 Applications not set by IPART
Flood work amend approval – administrative (Flood Engineer review NOT required)
*Applications not set by IPART include flood work, drillers licence, solicitor enquiries and Water Act applications.
Notes on fees
Notes for application fees
'New' work approval means any work proposed which is not currently listed on a water approval or is replacing an existing work which is listed on a water approval. *Note that forms are sent directly to these holders.
These fees are determined by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).
WaterNSW collects the groundwater assessment fee on behalf of the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW). NSW DCCEEW hydrogeologists are responsible for undertaking the groundwater assessment, when required.
Consent Transactions in relation to Monopoly Services provided by Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC).
Consent transaction in relation to drillers licences, solicitor enquiries and special meter reads are not stated, as they have not been regulated by IPART and are deemed to be unregulated services.
Impact and rules-based assessments:
Applications generally require a detailed impact assessment. This includes case by case investigation to consider potential local impacts and determine whether those impacts require refusal or consent, or consent subject to conditions.Depending on the type of transaction, impact assessment can include identifying and addressing impacts on adjoining pumps or bores, Aboriginal heritage sites, native vegetation, threatened species, wetlands, land degradation, salinity, soil compaction, geomorphic instability, hydrology, water logging, acidity, contamination and water quality, in addition to consideration and resolution of any lodged objections. In some cases where significant risks are identified, WaterNSW may require the applicant to commission third-party experts to determine the extent of those risks and how they might be mitigated.
Applications determined by IPART which are identified as ‘low risk’ are processed with a rules-based assessment which does not require the above detailed impact assessment.
Lower fees are charged for transactions which are identified as ‘low risk’.
WAMC charges are determined by IPART under the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal Act 1992 (IPART Act) and the WAMC determination. The reasons are:
- Section 11 of the IPART Act gives IPART a standing reference to conduct investigations and make reports to the Minister administering the IPART Act on the determination of the pricing for a government monopoly service supplied by a government agency specified in Schedule 1 of the IPART Act.
- The Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (Corporation) is listed in Schedule 1 of the IPART Act.
- The services which are declared as government monopoly services under clause 3 of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (Water Services) Order 2004 are services supplied by the Corporation which involve:
(1) the making available of water;
(2) the making available of the Corporation’s water supply facilities; or
(3) the supplying of water, whether by means of the Corporation’s water supply facilities or otherwise, (together, the Monopoly Services). - Under section 4(6) of the IPART Act, the Corporation is taken to be the supplier of the services for which fees and charges are payable under Chapter 3 of the Water Management Act.
- In practice, charges for such water resource management activities are made as charges under licences, permits, approvals or authorities granted by:
(1) the Minister under Chapter 3 of the Water Management Act (in areas of NSW in which proclamations under sections 55A and 88A of the Water Management Act are in force); and
(2) the Corporation under the Water Act (in other areas of NSW). - Accordingly, in determining maximum prices for the Monopoly Services, IPART has determined maximum prices payable for these services under various licences, permits, approvals or authorities granted under the Water Management Act and the Water Act.
Other fees or charges
Other fees or charges
- Charges applied by WaterNSW to all water licences and approvals for water management services, such as water resource management and metering. These charges are set by IPART.
- Fees applied by NSW Land Registry Services to cover the cost of Water Access Licence Register transactions and for issuing new water access licence certificates.
- Charges applied by WaterNSW for water delivery services for water taken from regulated rivers.
